Thank you, Jamie, for sharing such a personal and heartfelt story. We couldn’t be happier to have you as a part of the Kaia family!!
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For the past 3 months I have considered myself a pretty silent participant at Kaia. I think it is time to lay it out there. My good friend and partner in crime, Amanda Cowman, introduced me to Kaia last summer at a real turning point in my life. I was finalizing my divorce and although I had already met my current boyfriend and true love of my life, I was definitely struggling with some major self confidence issues. Having always been the athletic and fairly confident girl in my group, these feelings were NOT normal for me and I knew they weren’t. I felt like a failure on so many levels. After my first 5 week FIT session at Kaia I felt amazing and getting back to my old self but did not continue because of financial constraints at the time, being a new single mom and all. I kept running, but always felt like there was something missing.
Then another blow in October of this last year. My sister, Tracy, died of a stroke/heart attack at only 41 years old, leaving behind a husband and three young girls. My sister had never been very healthy, suffering from severe obesity most her life, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, alcoholism, depression and a myriad of other issues due to poor nutrition. These issues eventually led to her escalating heart problems which severely weakened her heart in the year before her passing. All it took was a strong case of the flu which caused her to have a stroke and then a heart attack in her sleep. Let me just stress how my sister’s long history of very unhealthy eating, not exercising and other bad habits contributed to her many health problems at a young age. This through me for a real loop.
When Amanda came to me again early this year and asked me to join her at Kaia, I jumped at the idea. I made a life long commitment to myself and to my family to always be healthy, strong and confident so that I may pass that lifestyle down to my children and set an example for my nieces. Kaia has, in many ways, become my life saver and saving grace. I am inspired everyday by the commitment of our coaches and the amazing stories of the girls in our Kaia family. I feel a true connection and devotion to Kaia and hope to carry it on for many years to come. I am proud to say that Kaia and my amazing girlfriends have brought me back to life and helped me re-find the Jamie that I always knew was there deep down. I can’t express in words what you all mean to me. I hope my story helps to remind us all of how important it is to not only take care of yourself and your needs as women but how important it is for us as sisters, mothers and friends to help set that example of health and strength for the ones we love and hold dear to our hearts.
MUCH LOVE AND KAIA TO YOU ALL!
Jamie
